


Picture This!

by Mersheeple



Series: Hearts&Cauldrons Prompts [59]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Apprenticeship, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-War, Severus Snape Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25786924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mersheeple/pseuds/Mersheeple
Summary: Severus's voice was damaged after the attack by Nagini. Someone found another way to talk to him. A way that didn't hurt. Until, one day, many years on, when it did.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Series: Hearts&Cauldrons Prompts [59]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805746
Comments: 39
Kudos: 149
Collections: Hearts and Cauldrons Discord Members, Severus Snape Lives!, Severus Snape with Disability and/or Chronic Illness Fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DaronwyK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaronwyK/gifts).



> Happy Birthday my lovely! I hope you have had a fantastic day and that you know how very much you are loved! <3 <3

Severus awoke in a place filled with beeping machines and bright lights. He had a strange feeling in his head, like being underwater and seeing only bubbles of light in the gloom. It was uncomfortable and awkward and it made him agitated. And then her face appeared, wobbly and swimming in front of his eyes.

“Welcome back Severus. I’ll be back in a moment.” _Why was she calling him by his first name? What was that infernal beeping? And where the hell was he? He glared at the ceiling, hoping it would give him answers._

“Hello there Mr Snape, it’s wonderful to see you are back with us. Your wife has been very worried about you! That was a nasty accident you were in but we managed to get you all sorted out. Now, I just need to take your vitals and I will leave you to catch up on the last few months with your wife.” _Wife? His wife? What was the daft woman on about?_ The nurse started checking things and he realised he was in what appeared to be a Muggle hospital. Why was he here? Hermione Granger was looking at him pointedly, silently begging him not to say anything. The nurse nodded, satisfied with her results and she patted Miss Granger on the shoulder, walking out with a soft hum and closing the door.

“Professor Snape, please let me explain everything. We won the War. Voldemort is dead and you survived. I came back for you after the end and found you barely hanging on. I managed to find the potions you had on your person and added some of my own. I Apparated us to St Mungo’s but they were overrun with people and were refusing anyone with any Death Eater associations. Harry couldn’t get to us quick enough so I brought us here. It’s a Muggle hospital. You’ve been in a coma for three months.” He nodded to show he understood and quirked an eyebrow ready to verbalise a question if he needed to but, he knew, she was smart enough to understand what he was wanting to ask. She blushed prettily, caught out, and he managed to keep his smirk under wraps but only just.

“They think I’m your wife. I…I didn’t know how else to make sure that I would be able to visit as much as I wanted to and I had promised Harry that I’d keep an eye on you.” She blushed again and he opened his mouth to speak.

“Severus, they don’t know if you will recover completely from the snake bite. You may not speak again.” He snapped his mouth closed and glared at the ceiling. His voice might be completely gone? What use was he without his voice? She moved to hover over his face again and looked him dead in the eyes.

“I’ve been learning you know. About Legilimency and Occlumency. I’m never going to be as good as you but…well…if you wanted to, uh…” She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes grimacing at her own lack of confidence.

“If you wanted to have a way of talking to someone, you could link to me. I know there is a spell. You could…you could talk to me.” A soft tendril of thought curled into her mind and her eyes widened as she felt the link between their minds solidify.

_Thank you Miss Granger. That would be…Acceptable._

“Hermione. You can call me Hermione.” She blurted the words out and blushed again, turning away slightly. He sent her a smile inside her mind, the closest he had come to actually smiling in many years and sent her the word she wanted, watching as a slight shiver danced on her skin.

_Hermione._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip - approximately nine to twelve months.

His voice had never returned to its former beauty and strength and so he had declined to return to Hogwarts, instead choosing to open a small Apothecary in Hogsmeade. He had no competition there and it was close enough to the school that he could visit with Minerva once a week, a condition of his declining the position at Hogwarts. She refused to let him stay away, though he often insisted that she come to his home above the Apothecary, or to the Three Broomsticks if something stronger than coffee was required by the Scottish matriarch.

He had sworn off alcohol and all of his other vices, which in his head were numerous, after he was given a second chance to live by the not-quite-so-insufferable know it all. She, too, was based at Hogwarts and had actually visited him once or twice since he had settled in Hogsmeade. He knew, however, that it couldn’t last. She would soon be heading to start her life after her exams in the next few weeks. It made him sad to think that he would lose touch with her. Perhaps she would be willing to write to him now and then? The bell above the door broke through his musings and he looked up, spotting the very person he had been thinking about right before she sent him her usual hello message directly into his head; a vision of sunflowers, herbs, and the Potions Classroom at Hogwarts. He sent back his own hello; the sun coming from behind clouds, the smell of citrus and her period of time as a cat in her Second Year. It never failed to make her giggle.

“Yes yes, hello Severus. How are you today?” While he had gained some of his voice back, with her he still preferred to send images and emotions at her rather than speaking out loud. It kept his mental barriers strong and made sure that she focussed on him. He sent her an image of a thunderstorm, lightning flashing through the sky over a dark purple tinted lake. She gasped softly and smiled beautifully at him.

“I know you mean grumpy but wow Severus, that is a beautiful place. And really, when are you not grumpy?” He snorted a soft laugh through his nose and sent her a very quick image of a bed. She laughed again and grinned.

“Ok, yes, you probably aren’t grumpy when you’re asleep. You definitely weren’t in the hospital…” she trailed off awkwardly. They never referenced the time when she had called herself ‘Mrs Snape’ just to be sure that she could talk to him and be around to help if he needed or wanted help. He sent her an image of a question mark, feeling too lazy to ask any real questions out loud today and she ducked her head shyly, nervous in spite of all the times they had talked. He caught a momentary image from her, the image of him, holding a stirring stick and stroking it lasciviously, and then it vanished and she smiled at him again.

“Can’t I come see my friend for advice? I’m having a bit of a crisis to be honest. I haven’t even sat my exams yet and I have offers. How can I possibly know what is the best option for me? What do I do Severus?” He waved at the stool behind the desk and she sighed gratefully, transfiguring it slightly so it was more comfortable. She pulled her offer letters out of her bag. As he had expected, there were several of them.

“So, this pile is Apprenticeships. I’ve been offered Transfiguration with Headmistress McGonagall, Charms with Professor Flitwick, Arithmancy with Professor Vector and Ancient Runes with Professor Babbling.” She sighed softly.

“No Potions with Professor Slughorn? I would have thought he would want to collect you.” Severus spoke softly, his voice little more than a whisper now, lest it hurt him or cause more problems in the future.

“Oh, I turned him down already. I wouldn’t want to learn under him for another three years. There’s only one Potions Master I’d apprentice under and it hasn’t been offered…” She trailed off and smiled at him softly. With a smirk, he reached into the drawer under the till and added another letter to the pile of Apprenticeship offers. Her eyes widened and she ripped the envelope open hurriedly, scanning his Apprenticeship offer. She jumped from the stool and flung her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly, her head resting against his chest. He stayed motionless for a moment before sliding his arms around her shoulders carefully and slowly, giving her chance to pull away if she wanted to. When she just nuzzled against him softly, he sighed and rested his chin on her head with a smile. It seemed she had made her decision all by herself. Well, mostly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip - 3 years, end of her Apprenticeship

They worked well together. He had known that they would, it was why he had offered her the Apprenticeship in the first place. He was gratified to find that he had been right though. She worked quickly and efficiently, tidied away after herself and even made some of the best coffee he had ever tasted. And she did it all with a smile, even when he sent her images of thunderstorms and crashing waves and other angry things.

“Severus, I need to get this potion tested at some point. It’s one of my final projects. The Percuro Potion.” Hermione bustled around in front of him, cleaning out the cauldron that she had just finished using. He knew she wouldn’t turn around so he sent her an image of a question mark, reminding her that she had always used code names for the potions she was creating, as he had insisted, so that she could keep the contents a secret. He trusted her and had given her free rein of the laboratory when she had reached her final year of the Apprenticeship.

“Oh, right. So, the Percuro Potion is my answer to the lasting effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Not the scarring like the balms you have but the shakes and nightmares and flashbacks. They mimic, to some extent anyway, the effects of PTSD. I wanted something that would heal the underlying mental pain and torture that comes with being under the Cruciatus Curse for longer periods of time. I’ve been using it myself but it might be a placebo, you know? I mean, I want it to work so maybe I have fooled myself into thinking it will work. I don’t know. I don’t know who to test it on though. There were so many people tortured during the War but, asking for volunteers, what if there are allergic reactions and…” she trailed off as he sent her the image of an explosion. It was a sign he had used before and always worked to shut her up, if only for a moment.

“You can test it on me. I think twenty years on and off of being tortured with the Cruciatus _should_ be extensive enough to know if the potion will work.” She gasped, smiling at him in a way that softened all her features and lit up her face with an inner glow that made him smile back. He rarely saw this smile, but when it happened it felt like a literal blow to his chest, it nearly stole his breath with its intensity.

“Oh thank you Severus, thank you.” She handed him a vial of her potion and he took a sip of the deep red-purple liquid. It tasted vaguely of cherries, with a strangely bitter after taste that his keen senses told him could be attributed to Hyssop. It was an awful flavour but, if it would provide relief where nothing else did, it would be worth it. He took a moment to pause, looking at the ground as he rolled his neck. A flash of blinding light pressed into his head and he rocked back on his heels, feeling like he would vomit immediately and then, as quickly as it had started, it vanished and took all his aches and pains along with it. His headache, a remnant from the first time he had been knocked unconscious by the Cruciatus Curse that had never truly gone away in twenty three years, was suddenly gone. Just, instantly, completely gone.

“My…my headache is gone. The cramping in my back is gone. What the hell is in that thing?” He stared at her, his eyes wide, and she smiled, another of her beautifully intense smiles. She was stunning and so intelligent and incredible and…oh, oh dear. He rather thought he might like her a little more than he had intended. This was not part of the plan. He wasn’t ready when she wrapped her arms around his waist and grinned up at him. He wasn’t ready when she squeezed him tight and wiggled against him happily, sending him images of him hugging her back. But he knew that that was what he wanted too. And so he hugged her back, hoping that he wasn’t broadcasting his own images at her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip - one year after the end of her Apprenticeship

She had finished her Apprenticeship with all three of her brews becoming staples in his store; Her Percuro Potion was a best seller, her Elixir of White Noise was perfect for removing the nightmares from the War and was the only non-addictive potion of its kind, and her improved Scar Removal Balm was even effective on his neck wounds and the scar on her arm, in spite of the inherent properties of dark magic found therein.

She was incredible and he was so proud of her. And now he was just waiting. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for her to be offered another research job, probably by St Mungo’s, or to be offered her own Apothecary, or to be given a million Galleon opportunity in the bowels of the Ministry. But every day, she came in to work, handed him a mug of coffee she had made him and started to brew. She would top up his stores, brewing to his exacting specifications and doing everything he asked, whenever he asked. She was a saint, a boon he had no right to expect. He had decided to speak to Minerva about the situation with Hermione and he asked her advice while they sat in her office at Hogwarts.

“Minerva, what do I do?” he asked, frowning as he stared into his teacup. “Hermione is going to want to move on now that she is a fully qualified Potions Mistress in her own right and I will be utterly…lost without her.” Unintentionally he sent Minerva an image of himself in The Hell Year, looking out over the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts, the twinkling of the frost on the shores of the Black Lake at once beautiful and terrifying. Minerva frowned, knowing that he did not usually send her images because it was his thing with Hermione.

“Severus, I want you to think about this very carefully and answer me one question. What will you miss if Hermione moves on: is it her work ethic or her?” Minerva leaned back, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. It was exactly the same as when he was a boy. He felt small all of a sudden and blushed under her scrutiny, not wanting to answer. Unfortunately, his mind had other ideas and he sent her pictures and images that answered for him.

_Hermione brewing her potions. Hermione humming as she cleaned. Hermione smiling at him as she served a customer. Hermione hugging him. Hermione. Hermione. Hermione._

“Well, that answers that then. I think you should tell her you do not want to lose her and see what happens. Take the leap of faith and tell her.” Minerva smiled at him and he hoped she knew more than she was saying. Severus sent her another set of pictures, pictures of his gratitude, of him smiling. His throat had closed up with her blessing, though she probably did not mean for it to be that at the time. He left, heading back to his Apothecary with a slight bounce in his step.

Minerva watched him go from her office window and smiled to herself. It was about time the boy was happy. It was about time he let himself picture time with Hermione. It was about time he let himself believe in all the things he deserved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks after his conversation with Minerva...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the last Chapter. Thank you for the lovely prompt DaronwyK and I hope your birthday is as special as you are... <3

The Apothecary was open, the aisles bustling with people. It wasn’t unusual now that word had got around that they had the best brewers in the country supplying their potions. Severus was proud of the shop, of all that they had achieved together since they had begun working together. It had been four years since the start of her Apprenticeship and she was now not only fully qualified but recognised for her own skills. And still she had not moved on. She had stayed with him, working with him, ignoring all other offers. At least, she seemed to have ignored the offers. He hadn’t asked recently. Not since he had spoken to Minerva and decided that, when he was ready, when he was brave enough, he was going to tell her how he felt.

She sent him an image that made him laugh then; her with a cup of coffee in her hand, throwing it over the next idiot who asked her stupid questions. He walked to stand behind the desk, sending her the image of a kettle and two mugs. He wasn’t paying attention to the mugs in the image. Perhaps if he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that they very clearly said Mr Right and Mrs Always Right. She noticed though. She nodded softly, leaving him to take over the queue of people, knowing that they would be through the queue quicker and she and Severus could relax with the cups of coffee he had asked her to make.

Hermione returned to an almost completely empty shop with two cups of perfectly brewed coffee, rich and dark for him, with a single half spoon of sugar, and white with one sugar for her. She placed his cup in front of him, smiling slightly as she placed her cup down next to his. She angled it slightly oddly, wondering if he would notice the Transfiguration she had placed on their cups.

“Thank you, please come again.” The last of their customers left, the bells above the door jingling loudly in the silence. He smiled and reached for his mug, anticipation on his face as he looked forward to savouring another of her delicious beverages. He picked up the mug and the stopped, frowning at the words.

“Mr Right?” He looked at her in surprise and she smiled softly at him, sending him a very simple set of images through their link; him smiling at her, her laughing with him, his arms around her in a tight hug and then a grey bespectacled cat.

“She told you?” He wanted to be angry but all he felt was afraid. Afraid of losing everything, of never smiling with her again, of never holding her again.

“No, Severus, I told her. I told her how I feel about you and she told me I was a poor excuse for a Gryffindor if I couldn’t tell you I care.” She smiled shyly, sending him one more image and his eyes widened.

He wondered, truly, if their kiss would look like that. He decided he didn’t want to wait to find out.


End file.
